Utah basketball

[DrumNFeather]

Honestly if I am BYU I put JT at the 5 for stretches and force Nevill to guard on the perimeter, then double him on the other end, hopefully with their speed on the floor they will be able to recover and rotate out of the double teams. Nevill had to guard Rougeau last night but Rougeau is no threat from the outside so it didnt work.

Rougeau is a pretty scrappy player. One of those guys you hate to play against but would love to have on your team. Did you see him shove his teamate and tell him to shut the f up after he got a blocking foul?

[KillerDog]

If BYU can get Nevill in foul trouble early in Provo, it could be a long day for the Utes. The problem is, you don't have a big man who is willing to take it to the hoop. Maybe Hartstock is the guy to do that, I don't know.

Given where most thought this team would be this year, Boylen has really done an incredible job.

Hartsock isn't that guy. I thought BYUs basic plan in SLC was solid and will work in Provo. Man up against Nevill and let him do what he can. Make him work a bit on D. Aggresively guard everyone else. Sure Nevill blew up but Utah squeaked out an OT victory that could easily have gone to BYU in regulation.

[RockyBalboa]

Hartsock isn't that guy. I thought BYUs basic plan in SLC was solid and will work in Provo. Man up against Nevill and let him do what he can. Make him work a bit on D. Aggresively guard everyone else. Sure Nevill blew up but Utah squeaked out an OT victory that could easily have gone to BYU in regulation.

Agreed. FT's were the difference in that game. If we make even just one more that game doesn't go into OT.

[Goatnapper'96]

Hartsock isn't that guy. I thought BYUs basic plan in SLC was solid and will work in Provo. Man up against Nevill and let him do what he can. Make him work a bit on D. Aggresively guard everyone else. Sure Nevill blew up but Utah squeaked out an OT victory that could easily have gone to BYU in regulation.

In Provo I think we start out doubling Luke and make the Utah perimeter shooters prove they can nail their jumpers.

[DrumNFeather]

In Provo I think we start out doubling Luke and make the Utah perimeter shooters prove they can nail their jumpers.

That's a good call. Harder to do on the road.

[il Padrino Ute]

Honestly I haven't seen them play outside of our game with them, so I don't really know how good they are. But they've won two OT games in conference, and survived a couple other scares at home. I think they will end up tying BYU for conf championship and should feel lucky to do so with all the close victories.

If you've only seen Utah play once, how can you say they should feel lucky to tie BYU for the conference title?

[jay santos]

If you've only seen Utah play once, how can you say they should feel lucky to tie BYU for the conference title?

1) I'm assuming Utah loses at BYU and UNM.

2) The three games they won in conference that went down to final possession of regulation. It could be considered lucky for Utah to go 3-0 in those games and BYU 0-1 in those games (0-2 for BYU if you count one point loss to UNLV but that's a stretch).

[jay santos]

In Provo I think we start out doubling Luke and make the Utah perimeter shooters prove they can nail their jumpers.

Miles might be the only MWC center with the size and defensive skill to give Luke a little bit of trouble. If Miles can stay out of foul trouble, he can somewhat neutralize Nevill. I'm not talking about shutting him down, I'm just saying maybe Luke goes 6/12 FG and 4/6 FT instead off 11/17 and 8/10.

[il Padrino Ute]

1) I'm assuming Utah loses at BYU and UNM.

2) The three games they won in conference that went down to final possession of regulation. It could be considered lucky for Utah to go 3-0 in those games and BYU 0-1 in those games (0-2 for BYU if you count one point loss to UNLV but that's a stretch).

Fair enough.